Living the 19th century

On Friday my family and I started an unvoluntary experiment. The heating in my parents house broke down and we`ve been without hot water since then. Fortunately, we have this stove in our living room which we now use to keep the house warm.

I have to say, that at first I was taken aback a bit, because the outlook of no hot shower seemed really bad to me. But, in the end it’s not as horrible. First, we’re taking showers at my aunt’s house now, who lives just five minutes away. And second, living like this makes you realise how comfortable our life is! When we now need hot water, we boil it first and then mix it with cold water. It’s practical, but also slower than using the faucet. It makes you plan what and when and how much water you use.

We were fortunate enough that the cold weather which brought us snow last week has ceded a bit, so we get along quite well just using the stove. But still, getting up in the morning is a bit damp. The house is all cold and you have to get the stove warm first. However, it has also had a positive effect, because we now spend more time together, because we don’t retreat into our rooms, but gather in the living room, to watch TV or talk.

All this reminded me of a show we had on TV some time ago when a group of people moved into a large farm house to try out how life was around the 19th century. It was quite a fun to watch the series and the videos are still available on the Internet. You can find them klicking here. They are only available in German, but it’s nice to watch it, still.